Knitted helmet



Cil

Patented Nov. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT ol-FICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates' to a knitted helmet and to the method of making the same.

In the manufacture of knitted helmets, it is customary to form a knitted piece and then cut out portions and sew sections together to form the completed article. Such cutting operations require picking up the ends of the portions out to prevent unraveling and then sewing the parts together. This operation results in uneven edges and often in loose stitches. Further, in the forming of a helmet, there is a tendency for the front side edges of the helmet not to fit closely to the face and to form loose portions which are caught by the Wind.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming a compact, neat and sturdy knitted helmet while rendering it unnecessary to cut any portion of the knitted swatch while at the same time providing a finished helmet with the front surfaces thereof forming a tight and inwardly turned edge which fits closely and snugly .about the face; A further object is to provide a simple and expeditious method for forming helmets in a continuous manner, the helmets being completed from the swatches as knitted without requiring cutting, and requiring the joining of only a few edges. Other specic objects and advantages will appear as the specification proceeds.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment by the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of a swatch knitted in accordance with my invention and adapted to have certain edge portions thereof joined to form my completed helmet; Fig.- 2, a side view in elevation of the nished helmet; and Fig. 3, an inverted broken view of the portion enclosed by the line 3-3 in Fig. 1, the portion being greatly enlarged to illustrate the knitting.

In the practice of my process, I first knit a swatch such as is illustrated in Fig. 1 with the top or front portion thereof provided with three V recesses I0. The portion along the end recesses is extended to form the extension II. On the lower or rear s ide of the swatch are formed two V recesses I2 and extension walls I3 joining the walls I2.

In the knitting operation, I form on the top or front side of the swatch an area of close stitches indicated by the numeral I4; that is, from line I4 to the upper or front edge of the swatch the stitches are tightly formed, while to the rear of line I4 the stitches are loosely formed. The loose and tight stitches may be formed in accordance with the disclosure in U. S. Patent No. 2,150,730

(Cl. (i6-171) issued to Carl F. Schuessler on March 14, 1939, for Knitting machine. In this application is disclosed mechanism whereby needles are arranged with high and low butts whereby certain needles draw the yarn down tightly to form tight stitches while other needles are not depressed so far and do not draw the stitches so tight. Whatever mechanism is employed, I prefer to form tight stitches along the front or upper side of the swatch, as illustrated, for the purpose hereinafter described.

After the swatch has been knitted, as shown in Fig. 1J I complete the helmet by following few and very simple operations. In the first place, the sides of the central V recess at the front of the swatch are joined by knitting, sewing, or any suitable means. This is. the only operation on the front side of the swatch.

The next step is to connect the sides of the two V recesses at the rear side of the swatch and then to join the two edges indicated by the numeral,

I3. This results in completely closing the rear side and forming a helmet, as shown in Fig. 2.

In the completed helmet, the closely knit stitches at the front side vof the helmet, as vshown in Fig. 2, tend to draw inwardly and cling to the contour of the face so that there is no tendency for wind to open the helmet. In other words, I provide the helmet at its only open side with the close stitching which serves to protect the opening. At the same time, it will be observed .that the close stitching follows a single uniform line,

as illustrated in Fig. 1, and is accomplished by y setting the needles for the stitching initially and proceeding along' in a uniform operation. In the illustration given, the loose stitches are indicated by the numerall 5 and the tight stitches are indicated by the numeral I6. A

While it is known that swatches may be knitted in various shapes with ridges and V recesses on opposite sides, it is believed that no one has yet conceived the idea of employing this as a means for forming an integral helmet with selvage edges, the swatch being converted into a helmet solely by joining some of the edges.

While in Fig. l, I have shown a swatch adapted for one helmet, it will be understood that this swatch may be knitted repeatedly in one continuous strip and then the swatch cut through at points so as to form separate portions, as shown in Fig. l. In any arrangement where the helmet is provided with one cut or unselvaged side, the loose ends are picked up by hand or machine and thus closed.

The operation is extremely simple, taking but a few moments for the completion ci a helmet while at the seme time providing a sturdy and almost integral structure which ts snugly in position about the head ci the wearer.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom, but the appended claims should be construed as broadly as permissible in view of the prior art.

I claim:

l. In a method for forming a knitted helmet, the steps ci knitting a swatch in the' shape illustrated with the front side thereof provided with three successive V recessesand the rear side provided with two V recesses, theA outer portions of the swatch being extended beyond said V recesses, joining the opposing edges of the central V recess in the front side, joining the opposing edges of each of the V recesses at the rear side, and then joining the rear edges of said extension portions.

2. In a. method for forming a lmitted helmet, the steps of ldnitting a swatch in the shape illustrated with the front side provided with three successive V recesses and with the front edge portion thereof provided with stitches tighter than the rear-portion of the swatch, the rear side of the swatch being provided with two V recesses and the outer portions of the swatch being examener tended beyond said V recesses, joining the opposing edges of the central V recess on the front side, joining the opposing edges of each of the two V recesses on the rear side, and joining the rear edges of said extension portions at the rear of the swatch.

3. A knitted helmet formed of a single knitted and uncut swatch, the ircnt side of said swatch being provided with three successive V recesses, and the opposing edges of the center V recess being joined, and additional portions of the swatch as knitted being joined to form the coinpleted helmet, said helmet having the front portion thereof adjacent the' opening in the helmet formed of relatively tight stitches while the remainder of the helmet is formed of relatively loose stitches.

4. A knitted helmet formed of a single knitted and uncut swatch, the front side of said swatch being provided with three successive V recesses, the opposing edges of the central V recess being joined, the rear side being provided with two V recesses, the opposing edges of each of the two V recesses being joined, and the outer portions of said swatch being extended beyond said V recesses, said portions being joined at the Vrear edges thereof to form the completed helmet.

WALTER E. SCHUESSLER. 

